G16 questions

[bubble doctor]

Hi!

First post to scuba board . I am looking into my first camera (largely encouraged by an upcoming liveaboard trip that I at least want happy snaps from!) I have done some work with DSLR's on shore and am interested in getting something I can grow with (controlling settings manually). At the moment I'm thinking Canon G16 with Fantasea casing. I am on a budget and didn't want to start with a big rig. Was hoping to start without a strobe (using internal flash) and without a wide angle lens and then add on bits as I want to improve my photos and as my skills get better. To start with I'm aiming for generally in focus and identifiable creatures . I'm not really sure about the focus light part either? I've read the G16 is said to be good at macro and a little more limited for wide angle without a lens. Is it super-limiting or just 'not as good as others' as far as photos like turtles/big fish/other dive buddies go?

Thanks heaps!

 

[diverjen]

We just bought this camera for macro and are trying to figure out add-ons. Looking forward to the responses!

 

[sunnyboy]

A lot depends on the kind of visibility you have for your photos. In great visibility, you probably want to create wide angle "get it all in" type photos, so being able to add lenses and not restrict the wide angle range of the camera would help decide the housing and what lenses it can use.

Where I'm located (Vancouver Island Canada), the visibility tends to "encourage" macro or close-up photos of the various wildlife, rather than wide angle shots.

My rig is a G16 in an Ikelite housing with one DS51 strobe on an arm, with a Sola1200 on a flex arm as the video light / focus light / back fill light. I find this rig is perfect for all my current photo needs given the conditions (lower vis, cold, dark, deep, etc.).

 

[Ran Mozaik]

The G16 is a terrific camera for underwater and one of the most popular cameras among divers for the last year or so.
The Fantasea housing is an excellent choice for it and has been getting nothing but great feedback.
As for the limitations, the G16's lens starts at 28mm, and when put under a flat port underwater narrows down to about 35mm.
That's quite standard but, for example, the S120 or the RX100III start from 24mm resulting in a wider FOV even without wet lenses (30 behind flat port).

To improve that you can get a wide angle dome such as the Fantasea BigEye which brings back the 25% you lost due to the flat port.
If you still want to go wider, you can use the Inon UWL-S100 ZM80 to give you a fisheye FOV.

As for macro options on the G16, they are very good even without add-ons, and you an use the internal flash with the diffuser to get some very good macro/close-up shots just with the camera + housing.
To improve that ability, you just need an M67 adapter and add your choice of macro lens, such as the Fantasea SharpEye, the +10 Subsee or the Inon UCL-165

Both wide angle and macro shots would improve using an external strobe of course. The Inon S2000 or Sea & Sea YS-01 are very popular for that camera. You can even get the newly released YS-03, which is a great package deal if you're ok with fully automatic (YS-03 Review)

I don't think a focus light is a necessity, but it really depends where you dive and the visibility. If you get the YS-01 you can use the target light included as a focus light. It's not very strong but for darker situations where you actually need a focus light, it would be quite a big help.

A nice and low-cost improvement is a red filter for ambient light shots and video.

 

[KeithG]

as indicated above, the G16 is a great camera. but, it is too much for your current situation?

you indicate you are just starting out and are on a budget. you may want to consider starting with a simpler camera. a cheaper, less capable "happy snap" camera can still be used to start building photo skills and knowledge. the olympus tg3 (with its housing) is a great inexpensive starter kit that one of the dive guides had on our recent trip. he got some awesome shots with it.

do you even like under water photography?
or maybe you like video better?
wide angle?
or macro?
ambient light or strobe shots?

i have seen too many first time photo divers dragging around rigs that they spent too much money on. as noobs, they were not far enough along the learning curve to know how to use their rig, or to even have decided what types of shots they wanted before they bought the camera. so they had the wrong type of camera for their interests and capability.

i suggest that new photo divers start with something good quality but lower cost. use the starter camera to learn how much you do not know, learn a bit more, figure out what type of shots you want to take that your current rig won't and then toss the starter camera and buy the right camera. for the majority of divers i see, the starter camera is the right camera. anything else is money wasted.

that said, i use a g16 in manual mode for wired strobe macro shots with an external wet lens. no video, no wide angle close focus shots. a few ambient light wide-ish angle shots in the water column. it is a great camera (at the price point) for the type of shots i do.

 

[diverjen]

Great advice giffenk!

We got an old lower end canon series powershot with canon uw housing about 7-8 years ago, used it on several snorkeling trips and once we became certified two dive trips. We noticed a huge difference in quality of photos just by renting a strobe for a day. About this time last year we found a great deal on a hero 3 black and did a trip with some filters, a macro lens, and a video light. Took that to Bonaire in April. Had a great time and learned more, but he likes having stills to print and also isn't a fan of hours of video editing. We picked the g16 because hubby is super into macro diving and photography and its a doable price point for us right now. Hub's Dad is also a professional ( not uw) photographer so hubby grew up around cameras and is more comfortable with and enjoys fiddling with settings.

I on the other hand may adopt the gopro for some of our next trip as I am not ready for anything more than that right now. If I was buying for me at this stage for stills I would totally get the tg3 and that new ys-03 and just have some fun with it!

 

[rob1967]

Giffenk, I am a little puzzled by your post and have to respectfully disagree. I would regard the G16 as a perfect starter camera. At the very minimum, you want your starter camera to shoot well in manual, and the G16 fits the bill perfectly. With at least one external strobe, one will be getting really nice shots fairly easily and will be encouraged to carry on. A camera like a G16, G15 or S100, S110, or S120 is perfect for getting comfortable shooting in manual underwater. If you want to go to a lower-end compact, you are looking at cameras that may not even have manual mode. Shooting in automatic mode underwater is pretty much a waste of time, IMHO!

I do think that before taking any camera underwater, one should be very comfortable with their buoyancy, etc. But a high-end compact such as a G16 is perfect starter camera for underwater. The extra few hundred dollars spent on a high-end compact vs. a low-end compact is money well spent. Nobody said this was a cheap hobby.

I do agree that one should not get too much camera too soon, but to me that means get a good compact to start rather than jumping right into mirrorless or SLR.

 

[sunnyboy]

My first decent UW camera was a Canon A570IS in an Ikelite housing. I added my own stainless-steel handle, clips and bungees. I used the on-camera flash with the external (Ikelite supplied) diffuser. I later added a Greenforce 3-LED light for video, eventually upgrading to my current Sola1200 on a flex line.

That rig worked perfectly for many years. It was a great learning rig because it was small enough and sturdy enough I could clip it off and giant stride off a boat, or take it in from shore. It went with me on every dive. I added CHDK to the camera to allow more control as well as raw+jpeg photos. It was a really great system.

I only upgraded to the G16/Ikelite/TTL strobes this past year because the video mode of the 570 is standard, and I really wanted to take some HD video in addition to the regular close-up and macro photos. I added the strobe because I also decided I was comfortable enough with the UW camera that I figured the strobe was the next step. I am totally happy with the current rig.

I still have the A570 rig for times when I really want the simplicity of the small system - guiding, or really crummy weather (where the camera getting banged up on entry/exit is possible).

 

[KeithG]

as per diverjen Please wait

 

[DENLASCUBA]

I would suggest the Canon S series line for beginners as they are quite simple and you can still build a nice rig. The G16 for someone who is quite familiar with a DSLR can also be a great underwater starter cam. I would recommend the Naiticam housing (a bit pricey) as it offers a lot in being able to expand your rig and easily add on wet lenses, most other housings require an adapter ring which I have been told by many that it does not feel as secure with larger/heavier wet lenses. You can still start off with just the camera and housing with the diffuser and take amazing shots, and then move into strobes and lenses once you are comfortable with the camera. You may be able to find some deals on here or eBay for the G16 and various housings now that the Canon G7X is out and divers will be looking to upgrade.